Show Me the Meaning
by QuietReign
Summary: Duo battling with the death of his best friend: Heero Yuy


SHOW ME THE MEANING  
  
~Disclaimer~ All characters and such original to Gundam Wing belong to Sunrise, Bandai, etc., etc., etc.... and not me... *wipes tears* .... song (above title) belongs to Backstreet Boys (off the "melinnium" CD) and not me... Story idea using characters and song belongs to me... No lawyers... no suits... just enjoy... :)  
  
~ indicates lyrics  
*-* indicates flashback  
-- indicates memory  
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~Show me the meaning of being lonely~  
  
Duo stood against the railing of a bridge as he stared out over the waters below. His eyes skimmed the rippling seas and stopped at the horizon where water met sky.  
  
~So many words for the broken heart  
It's hard to see in a crimson love  
So hard to breathe~  
  
Memories kept flooding him. Every breath he took was an attempt at pushing the memory far away. Just as he could get no significant amount of air into his lungs the memory of his best friend's death would not dissolve in the confines of his mind.  
--"Heero-- NO-------"--  
  
~ Walk with me and maybe  
Nights of light so soon become  
Wild and free I could feel the sun  
Your every wish will be done  
They tell me~  
  
* - * - * -  
  
"Duo! Get out of there! The place is about to blow!"  
Quatre stood in the gaurd tower watching the scene below.  
"I have to get Heero," Duo yelled frantically.  
"Go, Duo," Heero demanded.  
"Heero..." Duo cried out.  
"NOW, Maxwell! Go! I'll follow!"  
Duo came running out of a burned out warehouse. It was the place where a new body was forming. A new group raising themselves to be a new Oz. Quatre was joined by Relena and Sally.  
They watched Duo come running out. Then Trowa followed by Wufei. There were only two and a half minutes to clear before the place would be engulfed by flames.  
"_Quatre!_" Duo called in. "Where's Heero?"  
Quatre watched the screen and looked back at Hilde who was monitoring the movement of the four young men in the warehouse below. Her screen indicated and confirmed the safety of three of them but the fourth, Heero, was in the heart of the compound. She could see the red dot that was Heero racing for the exit.   
"He's almost clear," Hilde shouted.  
-Come on, Heero, Relena breathed under her breath.  
"I see him," Quatre exclaimed.  
"Get out!" Heero yelled. He was pushing the air in front of him- perhaps in an attempt to push the others away. "Go, go, go..." he continued.  
The others took his cue and fled. Duo's heart no longer felt constricted until he turned around.  
Heero had just made the entrance when the place exploded in a giant ball of fire and smoke.  
"Heero-- NO-------"  
  
* - * - * -  
  
~Show me the meaning of being lonely  
Is this the feeling I need to walk with  
Tell me why I can't be there where you are...  
There's something missing in my heart~  
  
Duo was crying now. The raging caps below swallowed his tears as they fell from his eyes. Why had they agreed to do this? Because Relena's safety was at hand.  
The waves roared at him, laughing as they crashed into the rocks. Calling out their "I told you so's" at him.  
The funeral was hard. Not that any funeral was ever easy, but it was very unkind.  
The guys had entered the church- all except for Duo and Wufei. Duo stared on through the glass that blocked the foyer from the sanctuary.  
Heero's body lay motionless in its new home. It was more than Duo could bare to see- or at least he thought. His feelings changed about what a horrid sight was when Relena entered.  
  
* - * - * -  
  
"Duo... won't you come inside," Lucrezia Noin asked. Her voice was sympathetic and caring.  
"Not... yet..." he sniffed.  
Duo watched Zechs escort his sister down the aisle. She was a wreck. A moment later a hand startled him out of his trance.  
"Mr. Maxwell... please come inside."  
Duo turned around to see Lady Une, Sally and Wufei. His eyes were swollen and red.  
"I can't," he whispered.  
Again he was alone as he turned to face the inside.  
  
Relena was staring at Heero as she stood beside his coffin. She was crying. Her tears fell from her eyes and landed into the tiny pores of Heero's suit. He didn't move, didn't wipe her tears.  
"Heero..." Relena sobbed. "Heero..."  
  
Duo saw her lean over the edge. He gulped at what he saw.  
  
Relena pulled Heero up by his collar and shook him.  
"_WAKE UP_! Heero, this -Isn't- funny any more," she screamed at him.  
She shook him and punched him- hoping that he would open his eyes. She intended for him to block her lashings and threaten to kill her as he always did but he did none of those things.  
Zechs, Lucrezia, Trowa and Wufei were trying to pull her away from the dead young man.  
"NO..." she screamed and would not let go. "He cant be dead! NO---- Heero... you said you would kill me... -HEERO----" she screamed.  
Duo ran down the aisle at her display. He could see that they could not get her to let go.  
"Relena," he called out.  
He broke through the crowd and put gentle hands on Relena's shoulders.  
"Rei... let him go..." he soothed.  
They were words that he didn't feel. Words that he had to convince himself of.  
"Duo..." she cried, tears streaming her face. Her voice wasn't even hers anymore. It was that of a whining infant. Her shallow breaths and high pitched squeel betrayed the collectiveness she had about her. "He's... gone..."  
  
* - * - * -  
  
Duo had never felt so much pain in his heart until they laid the casket into the ground.  
It took him and Trowa to hold her back from jumping in after Heero. She begged and pleaded for them to not do it. She kept insisting that he was alive and it was an evil trick.  
Duo couldn't take anymore. The memory was too much. He walked to his car.  
Heero was gone.  
  
~Life goes on as it never ends  
Eyes of stone observe the trends  
They never say forever gaze~  
  
Several twists and turns in the road came to an end when he reached his destination.  
The Wing Zero stood tall above the empty field protecting its owner. It was the place they all chose for their burial ground. When they were all gone, their headstone would be the towering Gundam in which they piloted- forever standing guard. With the cockpit sealed and the suit itself bolted to the ground, it would stand guard to all eternity.  
Duo walked up to the stone marker at Zero's feet. Heero was there... well, the remains of the one week old corpse.   
Duo shuttered. He wanted to remember Heero as the brave soldier with his hair in locks of a mess, eyes without emotion. He wanted to remember Heero -alive-.  
Heero's last words to him -specifically- filled Duo's mind.  
--"NOW, Maxwell! Go! I'll follow!"--  
"Where were you, Heero? Why'd it have to be now?" Tears streamed. "Why wasn't I with you?"  
  
~Guilty roads to an endless love  
There's no control  
Are you with me now  
Your every wish will be done  
They tell me...~  
  
Wufei arrived with Trowa and Quatre. They stepped out of the Four Runner slowly as they waited for Duo.  
The three young men watched their friend, respecting his feelings. Quatre was glad that the women listened when Wufei insisted that they remain with Relena.  
Duo was kneeling over Heero's grave, gushing with tears.  
  
~Show me the meaning of being lonely  
Is this the feeling I need to walk with  
Tell me why I can't be there where you are  
There's something missing in my heart~  
  
The sun was lowering in the sky. It was a little past the four o'clock position.  
Wing Zero projected a protective shadow over the grave, keeping it from the destructive rays of the sun.  
Duo clenched the grass and sod in his fists. His braid dangled and rested on the ground beside him.  
"Heero... I feel so alone," he sniffed, trying desperately to hold back the tears. "What am I supposed to do?"  
He thought about all that Heero was to him. It was more than friendship- Heero was like a brother to him. Forever watching, ever protecting. Sure, on occassion, Heero really tore into Duo about his irresponsibility but it was something Duo grew to need.  
Heero was there when Duo needed to vent, he was there when Duo needed to run and hide. Now he was gone.  
"You left me, man! You're gone! What am I -supposed to do-?"  
  
~There's no where to run  
I have no place to go  
Surrender my heart, body and soul~  
  
He could hear Heero's words time back.  
--"If ever I go... promise me you'll take care of Lee. But -don't- ever call her that. Promise."  
"Sure! But you have to promise to take care of De for me!"--  
They agreed. Now Heero was gone and he had to take care of Relena. He was thankful that Hilde was there for him but never pressed.  
"Is that it, Heero? How can I? I'll never be you!"  
  
~How can it be you're asking me to feel   
The things you never showed...~  
  
"I can't Heero! I don't know HOW to be strong for her!"  
His heart twisted in his chest sending him into excruciating pain. Tears flooded him again.  
"Why, Heero?"  
  
~You are missing in my heart  
Tell me why I can't be there where you are...~  
  
Wufei and the others walked over to Duo and kneeled beside him.  
Trowa put his hand on Duo's back. Quatre lifted the braid off the ground.  
"You know what he'd say right now, Duo?"  
Duo did know but he didn't want to acknowledge the presence of his friends.  
"Get off your self pity boat and suck it up. We don't have time for this," Wufei chided.  
Duo looked up, angry- confused. That wasn't what he'd say!  
The three looked down at Duo. He was a pittiful sight. Even Relena looked better than he did. Each in their own silence paid their respect to their fallen friend and thenwalked Duo back to the Four Runner. Trowa took Duo's keys.  
As they all drove away, Duo took one last look at Zero.  
  
~Show me the meaning of being lonely  
Is this the feeling I need to walk with  
Tell me why I can't be there where you are  
There's something missing in my heart~  
  
When he was face to face with Relena he heard Heero's voice giving him his answer.  
"You can't be on this side because you have to stay with her."  
Duo stared into Relena's eyes.  
"Rei..."  
"Duo..."  
He hugged her.  
"I was told never to call you..."  
"I know. 'Rei' is fine... please..."  
They looked at each other. Each brushing the tears away from the other's eyes.  
"He loved you," Duo whispered.  
"I know." Relena replied. "Someone is waiting for you."  
She turned him around and walked away. Duo turned to face Hilde. He walked over to her and fell into her arms in tears.  
"Why, De? Why..."  
  
~Show me the meaning of being lonely  
Is this the feeling I need to walk with  
Tell me why I can't be there wher eyou are  
There's something missing in my heart~ 


End file.
